Story: Framed for mass murder, wanton slaughter and 16 other assorted accounts, Ganta is found guilty and is sentenced to Deadman Wonderland, a jail where the public can watch some fun death games and badass blood fights. Family friendly fun for all! I should also mention that it's a literal wonderland, with the jail smack dab in the center of an amusement park, complete with a ferris wheel. That's how they roll, and they're rolling in a MacLauren, one of those super fast race cars; it's that good.
The concept of jail for convicts and those with super powers who also happen to be convicts is awesome and something I totally dig. Mix in some death games and and I'm totally sold. It's pretty intense, matching and building up on the initial concepts and unleashes a hefty torrent of blood, grim scenes, tearjerkers, morbid moods, dark atmospheres and some good, mature stuff to really get the reader's attention. It sees the promise it displayed initially and it delivers.
The story itself is also worked pretty well on and provides a surprising amount of depth considering that it's death games and violent combat with disturbing consequences. No spoilers here but it really goes deep into the tale, delivering depth and actually explaining plenty, leaving very few plot threads hanging. The explanations provided are satisfying and if something isn't explained now, it will be later.
Really solid stuff and while it may drag at times, it still provides plenty of excitement and the tradition of explaining shit and providing even more backstory. Heck, it's pretty action-packed throughout with loads of fights occuring and some real nice thrills that can make you go to the edge of your seat in tension and suspension. Drama between the inmates is done really well and provide some of the best moments, especially the aftermath and the effect of said fights, especially the ones that deal with words and not fists or superpowers. Some real good moments of emotion to be had here. This is one violent blood fest you can read for plot.
Art: Excellence. Grim, gory, detailed and looks pretty smashing in it's glory. The art is solid throughout: the character designs I really liked with some of the dames providing some plotty fanservice, Shiro, gory discretion shot to go along with the actual gore and some real good atmosphere abound. And as time moves on, some characters just grow in badassery.
Characters: What I really love about this is how just about any character with some significant impact on the story or some semi-hugeish interaction with the main guy has a backstory. Crow? Backstory. Whips? Backstory. Old guy? Backstory. Flamboyant? Backstory. Hummingbird? Backstory. The significants have backstories and that satisfies my curiosity like water to a dehydrated traveller. Big props for weaving tales about all of them and with said tales dealing with how they got into Deadman Wonderland, by putting two and two together, so to speak. And by everybody semi-significant and up, I mean EVERYBODY. Pretty mindboggling actually.
With their backgrounds are the characters themselves, in the here and now. They have depth, caused by the hardships of the past and the events they have to partake in the present. More than just names but faces and flesh behind the skin, makes you care for at least a few and feelings (Take your pick) for some, if not most. Hell, even liked a few of the villains as much as some of the good guys, like that Red-Headed Priest of the Katsu discipline. Katsu being a brutal, face punching discipline. Of violence.
Can't really say I hate much of anybody here but there are a few who just don't bring much to the table, despite whatever impact they may have on the story. I don't mean the gal who works with G-Cup but another who just wasn't up to snuff with the others. Also don't mean the ones you "love to hate", which are perfectly fine as they're made to be dispicable sons o' bitches, but a few others that just seem... a bit "eh" and just aren't as good as others. One in particular but overall, can hardly complain.
At the helm is Ganta and Shiro, our tragic heroes. Tragic because it screams "gang kick these two while they're down", how they wouldn't get much slack in their journey through hell. And with journey comes development, which they have in spades. As I learned more about them and witnessed all the crap they had to go through, I came to love them and continuously root for them, wanting the best ending they could get in this fucked up world.
Overall: I frigging loved this. Extremely solid throughout, high on action and violence, tension and suspense, tearjerking moments and nightmarish scenes, disturbing and cruel yet with hope on the horizon... it's just great. Really felt for the characters and as badass they can be, they can really pull on the heartstrings with all the crap they're put through. It's certainly not a happy read most of the time but it wouldn't completely kill you with depression. A flurry of emotions with a massive dose of action, it's got loads to spare. Simply put, as sad as it got, as much of a downer as it became, I had fun with this and couldn't wait to read the next chapter as I was hooked.